| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Through the life of a little town east of Moscow in the Russian heartland, Edward Rutherfurd creates a sweeping culture and her peoples--bleak yet exotic, brutal but romantic, land of ritual yet riddled with superstitious fears. From Russia's dawn and the cruel Tatar invasion to Ivan the Terrible and the wild Cossacks, from Peter, Catherine and the days of War and Peace to the drama of the Revolution and the extraordinary events of today--here is Russia's story in a spellbinding novel; history recreated with breathtaking detail and passion.
"Rewarding reading ... an engrossing story. The novel manages to capture and convey the vastness of Mother Russia, her story and her potential" --Boston Sunday Herald
"What's impressive about Russka is Edward Rutherfurd's audacity--and his erudition" --Washington Post
"It is a series of ingeniously linked short novels, with a great deal of history painlessly delivered ... a very good read indeed" --The Times
"...even textured, with just the right amount of spice, it is the literary equivalent of hot cakes" --Sunday Telegraph
Review
-The Washington Post Book World"
""RUSSKA" SUCCEEDS WHERE [OTHER BOOKS] OF TRENDY SOVIET-WATCHING HAVE FAILED. . . . Rutherfurd can take his place among an elite cadre of chroniclers such as Harold Lamb, Maurice Hindus and Henri Troyat."
-"San Francisco Chronicle"
"FAST-MOVING . . . Rutherfurd believes in adding color and adventure to facts that are exhaustively researched, making history palatable if not delicious."
"-Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
""SPRAWLING . . . Rutherfurd's close observation of Russia's religious and ethnic diversity gives this epic a distinctive flavor."
-"Publishers Weekly"
"RUTHERFURD LITERALLY PERSONIFIES HISTORY."
-New York" Daily News"
Browse and search another edition of this book.
The steppe was quiet that night. Read the first page
Concordance
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Incredibly well researched (Rutherfurd points out that it took him 5 years to write this book), I really got a sense of Russian history from reading this, both in terms of its proud heritage and how the public viewed their Royal Family there. I read this book a few months after reading Rutherfurd's London book, and although the style is similar, that's where the similarity ends. For one thing, Russka is a far bigger area than London, describing instead the Russian heartlands, using villages based near Kiev and then Moscow as the backdrow for the novel.
All in all, I strongly recommend you read this book. I didn't think it was quite as good as London which was I believe written some time later, but don't let that detract from the quality of the story.
The author constantly alludes to things which are about to happen in the next scene e.g. “Afterwards, she could never explain to herself how it was that the madness had seized her…” or “He was bound to have got into trouble sooner or later. And as Olga reminded Alexis, one didn’t have to do much to be in hot water these days”. This put me on tenterhooks and instead of relaxing with this book I was constantly waiting for the sword of Damacles to fall on the poor unfortunate whose turn it was in that part of the story.
However, and it is a big however – I shall never see Russia and its surrounding lands in the same way again. I have an understanding of the country’s history and thereby, a much better understanding of its present. Although I did get bogged down by page 700 (who can blame me) I still want to get starting on Edward Rutherford’s London as soon as I’ve finished the frothy historical novel I’ve just started (to give my brain and my blood pressure a rest).
Edward Rutherford is definitely an aquired taste, and once you take a sip... Read more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
